TORONTO — When the Toronto Blue Jays showed up for work on Tuesday, they felt boxed in by the dual threat of the Cleveland Indians and playoff history.

The Indians had won the first three games of the American League Championship Series, and none of the last nine teams that fell behind by 3-0 in a best-of-seven playoff series had even won Game 4, let alone the series.

Understanding the imposing odds against his team, third baseman Josh Donaldson made an impassioned speech to his Toronto teammates before the game, unleashing the emotion that underpins his play and hammering home the necessity of victory.

“I just wanted to kind of reiterate that,” Donaldson said afterward, “and let the boys know that I was coming to play.”

Donaldson hit a solo home run in the third inning and later turned in a run-saving defensive gem to help lead the Blue Jays to an unlikely 5-1 win over the Indians.

“Donno was all over the field today,” catcher Russell Martin said. “He brought his A game today, and we needed him to bring his A game.”

The Blue Jays’ pitchers came up big, too. Starter Aaron Sanchez, a 24-year-old right-hander, allowed only one run and two hits in six innings and outpitched Corey Kluber, Cleveland’s ace, who was starting on three days’ rest for the first time in his career.

The loss was the Indians’ first in the postseason, after six wins in which virtually everything they did worked to perfection — from the decisions of Manager Terry Francona to the stellar pitching of their relief corps and the sparkling defensive play of their fielders.

But in Game 4, a tactical decision by Francona backfired, an error contributed to a Toronto run, and the Blue Jays finally got some big hits against the Indians’ bullpen. Behind a loud, supportive crowd announced at 49,142 at Rogers Centre, Toronto pierced a small hole in the Indians’ aura of invincibility.

“If we were going to lose today, there was no way I was going to leave this series and not feel like I had an impact on it,” Donaldson said. “With that being said, I’ve got to go out and do it tomorrow.”

The Indians still hold a 3-1 advantage in the best-of-seven series, with Game 5 scheduled to be played in Toronto on Wednesday, but they will next send to the mound Ryan Merritt, who has made only four major league appearances. The Blue Jays will counter with Marco Estrada, one of their top pitchers.

Still, the mountain Toronto faces is a steep one. Only one team — the 2004 Boston Red Sox, managed by Francona — has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series.

“The series is not over,” Martin said. “We still have a lot of fight left in us.”

For the first time in the series, the Blue Jays took a lead, on Donaldson’s blast to left with two outs in the third. That changed a dynamic that had put the Indians and their bullpen in charge of the first three games.

Toronto still led, 2-1, after Cleveland’s Roberto Perez doubled home Coco Crisp in the top of the fifth. But with Perez on second and two outs, Carlos Santana rocketed a ground ball to the left side of the infield. It appeared headed for the outfield and a certain tie score.

Instead, Donaldson dived to his left, caught the ball at full extension in the webbing of his glove, scrambled to his feet and threw a strike to first to get the third out and then ran off the field screaming.

“Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games,” Sanchez said. “There’s nothing more I can say about J. D.”

When that big-time player came to the plate in the seventh inning, Francona decided he would not let Donaldson beat his team. With runners on first and third after reliever Bryan Shaw’s throwing error and nobody out, Francona instructed Shaw to intentionally walk Donaldson and pitch to Edwin Encarnacion.

Francona said later that he wanted to set up a forceout at home rather than play the infield in against Donaldson.

“In a game where we can’t give up another run, we have two hits, that seemed to me to put us in the best position,” Francona said. “It didn’t work.”

Encarnacion broke the game open by lining a single to center, scoring Ryan Goins and Jose Bautista as the fans roared their approval.

Until that moment, almost every decision Francona had made in the series had worked in his favor, including his flawless maneuvering of six relievers in Game 3 on Monday. Even Francona’s decision to start Kluber, who pitched decently over five innings on short rest, did not blow up in his face.

Francona may yet need Kluber for a Game 7. That possibility is a long way off, and the Blue Jays would have to defy the odds by winning two straight games to even the series. But they have already bucked one trend in winning Game 4, and they feel they have new life.

“We won four in a row to start the playoffs,” Martin said. “I believe we can do it.”

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B11 of the New York edition with the headline: Promising They Still Have Fight in Them, the Blue Jays Land a Blow. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe